Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett lives in Somerset, England, where
he spends all his time, and more, writing his rigorously
naturalistic, curiously entertaining, shamelessly popular
Discworld novels which have earned him extravagant acclaim
and puzzled stares from millions of readers around the
world.

Terry Pratchett has been regaling our world with tales of his off-kilter Discworld for
nearly twenty years and even more volumes. The latest novel in the series, Thief of Time,
takes a look at time and history with the reappearance of the monks of history. These
characters first appeared in Small Gods, but have since fallen by the wayside. Pratchett
focuses Thief of Time on them, with subplots carried by the underused character Susan
Sto Helit and her grandfather.

Some of Pratchett's best writing appears in the novels which do not target his recurring
characters. The examination of new characters seems to allow Pratchett a fresh look at
his world (and ours) even as he is creating them. Some of the characters,
although new, are familiar. The abbot of the monks of history has not yet gotten the hang
of cyclic living and must be reincarnated, leading to an authority figure who is an infant,
although with moments of lucidity, paralleling authority figures in earlier works, notably
the wizards of Unseen University.

Additionally, the subject matter of Thief of Time allows Pratchett to wax philosophical.
Pratchett is able to explore the nature of history and the way people relate to history. His
characters have long espoused the difference between fact and truth, and in Thief of Time,
he has Lu Tze and Lobsang discuss one of the ways this disparity occurs. In the
Discworld universe, time is the fabric on which history happens.

Pratchett's plot opens with a strange woman approaching Jeremy Clockson, a clockmaker
who is such a stickler for accuracy that he drives the other clockmakers crazy. Jeremy
quickly takes up the challenge to create the most accurate timepiece ever conceived, the
mythical glass clock. This challenge brings him into conflict with the Monks of History
as he threatens to bring the world to an end through no intentions of his own.

Of course, with the end of the world looming, Pratchett is able to give free rein to the
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, ground which he previously covered in his
collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens. In Thief of Time, however, Pratchett adds
a new element, exploring the reason his horsemen went their own way as Death attempts
to gather up his old comrades. Pratchett is also more than happy to take a few pokes at
rock bands, whose members leave before the band is successful.

Pratchett's targets in Thief of Time are carefully chosen. He has a masterful sequence
which takes aim at action films. A more lengthy look at education fills much of the book,
both in the form of Lu Tze's relationship with Lobsang (itself a mockery of martial arts
films) and Susan Sto Helit's attempts to run a decorous classroom. In the latter case,
especially, Susan, who finally finds someone her equal, is pictured as the champion of
traditional education techniques while the school's principal, Madam Frout, espouses
more modern, touchy-feely techniques. Even Susan's success fails to convince Madam
Frout that the old ways may be the best.

In the past, Pratchett has demonstrated a tendency to recycle some of his material. He
seems incapable of mentioning the figure Old Man Trouble without quoting the Gershwin
song which gave the character form. While this may have been humorous the first time
Pratchett used it, by Thief of Time the joke begins to wear thin. Fortunately, most of the
humor (one can hardly call them jokes) in Thief of Time is fresh. The reader may not
laugh out loud, as with some of Pratchett's novels, but there will be plenty of internal
chuckling.

Thief of Time proves, as do so many of Pratchett's novels, that he is writing
because there are topics he wishes to address in his books, not merely to continue a
highly successful franchise. As long as this remains the case, readers can look forward to
the next installment of the Discworld series with excitement and high expectations, which
will ultimately be met.

Steven H Silver is one of the founders and judges for the Sidewise Award
for Alternate History. He sits on concoms for Windycon, Chicon 2000 and
Clavius in 2001 and is co-chair of Picnicon 1998. Steven will be
serving as the Programming Chairman for Chicon 2000. In addition to
maintaining several bibliographies and the Harry Turtledove website,
Steven is trying to get his short stories published and has recently
finished his first novel. He lives at home with his wife and 3200
books. He is available for convention panels.